Internal combustion engine



NOV. 19, 1940. J. KEQUGH 2,222,367

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Aug. 22, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor gjon J X20157 A iiorneys 1940- J. J. KEOUGH INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 22, 1959 Attorneys Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE azzam minimal. COMBUSTION ENGINE John J. Kcough Hudson, Hall. Appl cation Armin 22, 19:9. sci-lei No. 291,459

4 Claims. (ci. 123-85) 4 My invention relates to im rovements in internal combustion engines, ject of my invention is combustion engine co provide an internal the advantageous features of two-cycle and four-cycle operation,

whereby greater efllciency and power output are obtained considering size and weight of the engine.

Other important objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description taken in connection with the drawings wherein for purposes of illustration I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a general right hand side elevational View of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2is an end elevational view of Figure 1 looking from right to left.

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken through Figure 1 approximately on the line 3-3 and showing the parts in the explosion position.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the parts in the exhausting position. I

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken through the piston assembly showing the operative relationship of the parts.

Figure 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the cylinder extension.

Figure '7 is a top plan view of the ratchet block or cross-head.

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the crankshaft.

Figure 9 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the auxiliary piston.

Figure 10 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken through Figure 5 approxi- 1 mately on the line |lll5.

Referring in detail to the drawing the numeral 5 generally designates an engine in accordance with the present invention having a suitable number of cylinders 5 which are pro- 45 vided in one side with an exhaust port 1 having a connection I with an exhaust manifold 9, an extension, 15 being superposed on and connected to the upper end of the cylinder head ll closing the upper end of the extension In and having there- 50 in the intake port l2 which is housed by a fitting [3 which has a connection l4 with the intake manifold 15 which has a carburetor coupling 15.

The fitting II has a partition I! with a valve seat opening normally closed by a ball valve I5 55 which is upwardly pressed by a spring l5 resting an important obon.a retainer 25, whereby the fuel mixture will be intaken through the fitting l3 into the top of the cylinder only on a down-stroke of the piston assembly. v

The engine further involves a crankcase 2| in I which is supported a crankshaft 22 having throws 23 including a crankpin 24.

Working in the cylinder 5 is the main piston 25 which is generally conventional in form and has ring grooves 25 in its upper part and a skirt 21 on its lower part. A piston pin 25 traverses the upper part of the skirt 21 below the head of the piston while the top 29 of the piston has concave side openings 30 and 3| therein in each of which is ground fitted a respective ball :2, a: which is held in place by a plug retainer 34, 35 threaded into the said top 25 of the piston. Through these balls 32 and 33 work ground fitted rods 35 and 31, respectively, the working fit of the balls and of the rods being such as to main- 20 tain compression above the piston 25. The upper ends of the rods 35 and 31 are traversed by a pin 35 which traverses depending ears 35 and 40, I clearly visible in Figure 10, which depend from a journal 4| which can turn and slide on a piston pin or bar 42, 43, respectively, which are arranged parallel across and in the skirt portion 44 of the auxiliary piston which is generally designated and which has in its head a ring groove 45 for a compression ring. The auxiliary piston 45 works in the cylinder extension l5 and the inner wall of this extension has vertical slots or grooves 41 formed at circumferentially spaced intervals to allow the gas or other fuel to pass. from a point above the auxiliary piston 45 to the space which exists between the top of the main piston 25 and the auxiliary piston and thereby relieve back pressure against the piston 45. The extension I5 is provided in a wall. with a spark plug opening a in which is located a spark plug is at a level below the uppermost position of the auxiliary piston as illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The lower ends of the rods 35 and 31 are pivoted as indicated by the numerals and 5'! on respective laterally projecting pins on the ratchet block constituting a cross-head which is designated 52 and which is formed with an opening 53 provided with suitable projections for engagso ing in the endless reversed worm thread 54 on the worm 55, which is iournaled at its upper end as indicated by the numeral 55 in the wrist pin end 51 of the piston assembly and at its lower end as indicated by the numeral 58 in the con- 55 necting rod bearing 59. The lower part of the thread 54 at the point indicated by the numeral 60 is increased in pitch for a purpose to be hereinafter indicated. The lower part of the worm is provided with a beveled pinion which is meshed with a beveled gear 6| on the crankshaft pin 24, the ratio of the teeth on the two gears being as 3 to 1 for a purpose to be hereinafte indicated.

The cross-head 52 is provided in its opposite ends with holes 62 and 63 which slidably receive the rods 54 and which are pinned at their upper ends in sockets in the wrist pin end 51 and at their lower ends in sockets in the upper section of the connecting rod bearing 59. The connecting rod bearing 59 is composed of the upper section 66 and the lower section 61 the sections being assembled by bolts 68.

In a suitable arrangement ofthe invention the bevel gear BI is a thirty-six tooth-bevel gear and the bevel pinion 60 has twelve teeth, thereby providing a three to one gear ratio. The ratio of these gears must be proportioned to the number of threads per inch on the worm 55. In the present embodiment there is one thread per inch on the worm 55 which causes the cross-head to travel the full length of the worm under one revolution of the beveled pinion 60, thereby establishing the ratio of 3 to 1. The increased thread on the end of the worm 55 is at the end of the stroke of the cross-head and has its operation described further herein. If there were two threads per inch on the worm then the beveled pinion 60 would have to make two full revolutions in order to cause the cross-head to travel the full length or stroke-of the worm, thereby requiring the use of a. larger beveled gear of '72 teeth and increasing the ratio of these gears to 6 to 1. toothed gear would then perform two full revolutions of the beveled pinion 50. So with every change of threads per inch on the worm to meet the requirements and specifications of different sized engines the ratio of the bevels must change accordingly to correspond. No matter what the ratio of the bevels may be the action of the auxiliary piston 45 during the course of the explosion, in intaking and .exhausting the gases simultaneously, and compressing the gas, is built around three cycles or three equally divided portions of one complete revolution of the crankshaft 22. One revolution of the crankshaft performs three operations of the auxiliary piston 45 by means of the revolving action of the bevel gears.

In Figure 3, the main piston 25 and the auxiliary piston 45 are at the top of the stroke with the cross-head just above the increased threads at the lower end of the worm 55 as indicated by the numeral 60, beginning to engage in the endless worm thread 54 on theworm 55. and ready to fire, and when the spark plug 49 is energized the explosion occurs between the auxiliary piston and the main piston, thereby forcing the main.

piston downwardly on the power stroke and turning the crankshaft counterclockwise a distanceof one third of a revolution of the crankshaft or to a position 120 degrees from the top position. The auxiliary piston remains in the top position shown in Figure 3, because the bevel gear 6| is turned one-third of a revolution, causing the beveled pinion 60 to make one complete revolution and turn the worm 55 with it so as to seemingly drive the cross-head 52 upwardly, thereby forcing the auxiliary piston 45 upwardly. Actually the One third of a revolution of this '72 auxiliary piston does not move relative to the cylinder head but the worm moves downwardly being a part of the main piston assembly turning as it does, thereby forcing the auxiliary piston away from the main piston and giving the auxiliary piston 45 a stationary position in the cylinder extension during the course of the explosion. This completes the first of the three cycles of operation.

Still under the compulsion of the exploded charge the main piston moves into the second cycle of operation from the 120 degree crankshaft position as shown in'dotted lines in Figure 3 to a 240 degree crankshaft position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4 in achieving which the crankshaft has turned another one third of a revolution or two thirds of a revolution in all, thereby completing two cycles of operation; during this performance the bevel gear 6| causes another complete (or more) revolution of the beveled pinion 50. The cross-head 52 having reached the top of the worm 55 now starts downwardly thereonbecause the lugs inside the cross-head opening 53 work across the thread at the top of the worm and follow the course of the reversing thread portion downwardly so as to pull the auxiliary piston 45 downwardly. and thereby cause a suction above the auxiliary piston which draws the gas or other fuel through the intake valve at the top of the cylinder head. At the same time-the downward movement of the piston 45 forces the burned gas below the auxiliary piston out through the exhaust port 1 below which the main piston 25 is then positioned. This is the end of the second of the three cycles of operation and can be termed the simultaneous intaking and exhausting cycle or stroke. At this point the main and auxiliary pistons are close together again as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4.

From the last described crankshaft position of 240 degrees the main piston 25 moves upwardly toward its original top position thereby completing the final cycle. Figure 3 of the drawings shows the positions of the parts at the end of the third cycle and at the beginning of the first cycle. The final cycle completes the final one-third revolution of the crankshaft causing the beveled gear 5| to effect the final one complete revolution of the beveled pinion 50. The cross-head 52 is at this point at the bottom part of the worm at the top of the numeral 54 at the end of the second cycle and at the beginning of the third cycle, but during the third cycle the ratchet travels upwardly together with the main piston 25 because the increased number of threads at the lower end of the worm 55 as indicated by the numeral 5. permit the cross-head 52 to remain substantially motionless on this upward movement of the main piston 25. There is only a slight movement of the cross-head 52 upwardly during the course of its travel along the increased thread Gl. Thus, while the main and auxiliary pistons are moving upwardly together on the last cycle the auxiliary piston moves slightly ahead of the main piston 25 just enough to provide for suificient space between the main and auxiliary pistons for the exploding charge by the time it completes the last cycle. The increased number of threads 60 must also be pro-v portioned to the ratio of the beveled gears 54 and GI, but in the present embodiment one-half a thread per one-eighth of an inch is necessary, the length of the increased thread being approximately one-eighth of an inch. This makes the length of the entire worm 55 one and one-eighth 15 inches, combining the length of both threads. By one-half a thread is meant that the thread is on just one side of the worm 55 at 60 working downwardly, the other half of the thread being on the opposite side of the worm 55 at 60 working upwardly. While the auxiliary and the main piston are traveling upwardly together the crosshead 52 is working downwardly one-eighth of an inch due to the half thread on one side and upwardly again when it follows the other half of the thread on the opposite side due to the lugs in the cross-head 52 working into the reverse portion of the endless thread 54 at 60. The cross-head 52 will move down and up at 60 with the full revolution of the bevel pinion 60 because the cross-head 52 moves down on the half thread at 60 with one-sixth of a. revolution of the beveled gear GI and up again at the last one-sixth of the revolution of the beveled gear 6!. The two-sixth revolution is involved in the full final third revolution of the beveled gear 6| and the crankshaft, thereby completing the final revolution of the beveled pinion 60.

One-half thread per one-eighth of an inch equalling four threads per inch, conforms to the 3 to 1 ratio of the bevel gears 60 and 6|. The slight rise of the auxiliary piston 45 above the main piston during the last cycle equals the oneeighth inch length of the thread at 60 and the space thus created between the auxiliary and the main piston at the end of the third cycle is where the explosion occurs in the next or first cycle.

On this upward movement of the auxiliary piston 45 in this third cycle it compresses above it a fresh charge of fuel so as to achieve the proper compression of the charge independently of the main piston. When the auxiliary piston reaches the top of its stroke in this compressing action, it passes up through the cylinder extension l and forces the compressed gas to pass downwardly through the slots '41 and enter the space between the top of the main piston 25 and the auxiliary piston 45, whereat the charge is ready to be exploded by operation of the spark 49 and the consequent repetition of the cycle described above.

Mathematical formula for finding ratio of beveled gears with a determined number of threads Number of threadsx number of cycles=unknown quantity to 1 1 X 3 =3 to 1 ratio 2 X 3 =8 to 1 ratio 3 X 3 =9 to 1 ratio 1% x 3 =01; to 1 ratio Operation of auxiliary rods and parts During the first cycle the ground rods 36 and 31 have sidewise movement only, caused by the throw of the crankshaft while the ball-bearing fittings slide down the rods 36 and 31. The depending ears 39 and 40 swing from left to right and slide the journals 4| from left to right on the piston pin or bar 42 and 43 respectively.

In the second cycle the rods 38 and 31 slide downwardly through the ball-bearings 32 and 33 with the depending ears and journals swinging and sliding from right to left. The rods 36 and 31 are substantially motionless in the balls 32 and 33 except for the slight movement upwardly and downwardly during the action of the cross head 52 on the thread at 60.

By the means described the economy and simplicity of action of the two cycle type of engine are merged with the power advantages of the four cycle type of internal combustion engine.

Although I have shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire to limit the application of my invention thereto, except as required by the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder, a, piston assembly working in said cylinder, a crankshaft including a throw and a crankpin, said piston assembly comprising a main piston and an auxiliar piston above'said main piston, a connecting rod assembly operatively connecting said main and auxiliar pistons to said crankpin, said connecting rod assembly including positioning means for operating said auxiliary piston relative to said main piston, said positioning means comprising a rotary reversing worm operatively connected to said main and auxiliary pistons, and gear means operatively connecting said worm and said crankpin.

2. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a crank shaft including a revolving throw, a pair of main and auxiliary pistons, respectively, in said cylinder differentially positionable relatively, a piston rod assembly operatively connecting the main piston to said throw, and means to position said auxiliary piston differentially comprisin a worm drive operative under revolving movement of said throw.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a crank shaft including a revolving throw. a pair of main and auxiliary pistons, respectively, in said cylinder differentially positionable relatively, a piston rod assembly operatively connecting said main piston to said throw, and means to position said auxiliary piston differentially comprising a cross head slidably mounted on said assembly and operatively connected to said auxiliary piston, and a. reversing worm drive for operating said cross head operative under revolving movement of said throw.

4. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder, a crank shaft including a revolving throw, a pair of main and auxiliary pistons, respectively, in said cylinder differentially positionable relatively, a piston rod assembly operatively connecting the main piston to said throw, and means to position said auxiliary piston differentially comprising a cross head slidably mounted on said assembly, a pair of auxiliary piston rods slidably and pivotally extended through said main piston, and operatively connecting said cross head to said auxiliary piston, and a reversing worm drive for said cross head operative under revolving movement of said throw.

JOHN J. KEOUGH. 

